What is this?

This is my own take on the D&D 3.5 Warlock. One of the biggest problems with 3.5's Warlock was that it was so situational, with its reliance on blasting for typeless damage and a very small selection of at-will powers. The class often ended up being either very powerful or nearly useless depending on the situation, and that's no fun. I've tried to increase customizability, as well as put some slight limits on the use of invocations. I've also tried to bring the class more into line with the normal conventions for Pathfinder.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Warlocks are proficient with all simple weapons. They are proficient with light armor but not with shields. A Warlock can use invocations (including elemental blast) while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance, but a Warlock wearing medium armor, heavy armor, or a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure when using Warlock invocations, including elemental blast. A multiclass Warlock still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.

Elemental Aspect: Once per day, a Warlock may perform a ritual that attunes him to an element. This ritual takes one hour. The chosen elemental aspect lasts until he next performs the ritual, which means he need not perform it if he wants to retain the same elemental aspect on consecutive days. However, he still may only change elemental aspect once for any given 24 hour period.

Elemental Aspects

AirHe is infused with the power of wind and storms.His elemental blast deals electric damage, and he has electric resistance 5, and can cast feather fall at will as a spell-like ability, but only on himself.At 10th level, this improves to electric resistance 10, and becomes electric immunity at 15th level.

EarthHe is infused with the power of the deep earth.His elemental blast deals acid damage, and he has acid resistance 5, and also gains a +1 natural armor bonus.At 10th level, this improves to acid resistance 10, and becomes acid immunity at 15th level.

FireHe is infused with the power of heat and flames.His elemental blast deals fire damage, and he has fire resistance 5, as well as the constant benefit of endure elements for hot temperatures.At 10th level, this improves to fire resistance 10, and becomes fire immunity at 15th level.

WaterHe is infused with the power of water and ice.His elemental blast deals cold damage, and he has cold resistance 5, as well as the constant benefit of endure elements for cold temperatures.At 10th level, this improves to cold resistance 10, and becomes cold immunity at 15th level.

Elemental Blast (Sp): A Warlock conjures a blast of raw elemental fury, striking and damaging foes, and also sometimes imparting other debilitating effects. An elemental blast is a ray with a range of 60 feet. It is a ranged touch attack that uses a standard action, affects a single target, and allows no saving throw. At 1st level, an elemental blast deals 1d6 points of damage of a type determined by the Warlock's elemental aspect. The blast increases in power as the Warlock rises in level, gaining an extra d6 at each odd level, as noted on the table above.Using elemental blast requires at least one free hand, and is subject to arcane spell failure chance as described under Weapon and Armor Proficiency above.An elemental blast is the equivalent of a 1st-level spell. It is subject to spell resistance, although the Spell Penetration feat and other effects that improve caster level checks to overcome spell resistance also apply to elemental blast. The Warlock's caster level is equal to his Warlock level. An elemental blast deals half damage to objects. Metamagic feats cannot improve an elemental blast, because it is a spell-like ability, not a spell.

Void Points (Su): At 1st level, a Warlock has a pool of 3 void points available. He gains an additional void point every odd level, up to a maximum of 12 void points at 19th level. While most of his arcane abilities can be used at will, void points allow him to supplement them by drawing upon a source of magic that does not replenish as fast. A Warlock can, as a full-round action, focus his power and regain one void point. Since he can regain them relatively quickly, he is presumed to have a full supply of void points at the start of each new encounter, unless there was no time at all to rest.When making an elemental blast attack, the Warlock can (as a free action) spend any number of void points up to the number of damage dice in his elemental blast. Each spent void point gives him a +1 bonus to attack and an additional 1d6 damage on that elemental blast.

Invocations: At 1st level, 11th level, 19th level, and every even level from 2nd to 18th, a Warlock learns an invocation. A Warlock does not prepare or cast spells, but rather uses invocations to channel his magical power. The caster level for any invocation that needs it is equal to his Warlock level, and the save DC for invocations is equal to 10 + half Warlock level + Charisma modifier. Unlike other spell-like abilities, invocations are subject to arcane spell failure chance as described under Weapon and Armor Proficiency above.At any level when an Warlock learns a new invocation, he can also replace an invocation he already knows with another invocation that he is eligible to learn. There are four grades of invocations: basic, enhanced, superior, and grand. After leveling up and changing invocations, he cannot know more invocations of a given grade than the grade below it.Some invocations are blast augmentations. Any given use of elemental blast can only carry one blast augmentation with it.

Basic Invocations

Arcane Luck (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock chooses one save, and gains a luck bonus equal to his Charisma modifier to that save. This bonus lasts until the next time he performs the ritual to choose his elemental aspect, or the next time he uses this incantation, whichever comes first.

Arcane Projectile (Su): The Warlock gains the ability to envelop a thrown weapon in arcane energy, adding his elemental blast damage to the thrown weapon's damage. He may also spend void points to enhance the elemental blast damage, as normal. The thrown weapon is otherwise like any other thrown weapon, targeting AC (not touch AC) and adding the Warlock's Strength modifier to its damage. It can also benefit from any other bonuses to ranged damage the Warlock gains due to feats or other class features. The magical energy does not damage the weapon itself. By spending a void point as he throws the weapon, it will return as if it had the returning weapon special ability.

Arcane Spear: The Warlock's elemental blast range increases to 250 feet. This is a blast augmentation.

Breath of the Night (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts fog cloud as a spell-like ability.

Call of the Wild: The Warlock gains Wild Empathy as a Druid of his level, and constantly benefits from the effect of the speak with animals spell.

Call the Swarm (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts summon swarm as a spell-like ability, but with a duration of concentration. However, the Warlock can maintain the swarm without concentrating by spending one void point per round. The swarm will never attack the Warlock that created it, but it may attack his allies.

Darkbringer: The Warlock gains the following additional elemental aspect available to him.

Darkness Elemental Aspect

DarknessHe is infused with the power of negative energy.Against creatures harmed by negative energy, his elemental blast deals negative energy damage. Against other creatures, it deals energy damage resisted by either cold or acid resistance; the target resists with the better of the two resistances.By spending three void points as he makes a negative energy elemental blast, he may attempt to command undead instead of dealing damage, as though he possessed a Cleric level equal to his Warlock level. Only the creature targeted by the elemental blast is affected. Attempting to command undead is a blast augmentation. He cannot attempt to command undead if he did not choose darkness as his elemental aspect.

Deadly Blast: The Warlock can choose to take a -2 penalty on all elemental blast attack rolls to gain a 1d6 bonus on all elemental blast damage rolls. At 12th level, the attack penalty increases to -4 and the bonus damage increases to 2d6. The Warlock must choose to use this invocation before making an elemental blast attack roll and its effects last until his next turn. The attack penalty and bonus damage do not apply to any attacks or effects other than elemental blast and abilities that count as an elemental blast, like soul blade. This invocation is not a blast augmentation, nor does it require any sort of action to use.

Elemental Tendril (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock conjures a tendril made out of his chosen element anywhere within 30 ft. It cannot move, but, each round, it attempts to grapple or maintain a grapple with an adjacent foe (chosen by the Warlock) using a CMB equal to the number of Warlock levels + his Charisma modifier. This grapple attempt does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Each round, a foe caught in the grapple takes damage equal to 1d6 + the Warlock's Charisma modifier, of whatever elemental type the tendril is made out of. The tendril has AC 15, hardness 4, and 3 hit points per Warlock level. The tendril normally lasts for 1 round per Warlock level, but, if it is reduced to 0 or less hit points, it immediately disappears.

Frightful Blast: This is a blast augmentation. The Warlock fires a particularly terrifying elemental blast. The target of the elemental blast must also make a Will save or be shaken for 1 minute. This save and effect apply only if elemental blast actually hits. A shaken creature struck by a frightful blast is not affected by the shaken aspect of the blast but takes damage normally; however, if the Warlock spends two void points as he makes an elemental blast attack against a creature that is already shaken, he can increase its fear level to frightened if the creature fails its save. Creatures with immunity to mind-affecting spells and abilities or fear effects cannot be affected by a frightful blast's fear effect, but still take damage.

Lightbringer: The Warlock gains the following additional elemental aspect available to him.

Light Elemental Aspect

LightHe is infused with the power of positive energy.Against creatures harmed by positive energy, his elemental blast deals positive energy damage. Against other creatures, it deals energy damage resisted by either fire or electricity resistance; the target resists with the better of the two resistances.By spending three void points as he makes a positive energy elemental blast, he may attempt to turn undead instead of dealing damage, as though he possessed a Cleric level equal to his Warlock level. Only the creature targeted by the elemental blast is affected. Attempting to turn undead is a blast augmentation. He cannot attempt to turn undead if he did not choose light as his elemental aspect.

Petty Magic (Sp): The Warlock chooses three cantrips from the following list: arcane mark, bleed, dancing lights, daze, detect poison, light, mage hand, mending, message, open/close, prestidigitation, resistance, spark, stabilize.He can use them at will as a spell-like ability.

See the Unseen: The Warlock gains darkvision 60 ft. and constantly benefits from the effect of the see invisibility spell, also with a 60 ft. range.

Shattering Utterance (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts shatter as a spell-like ability. A creature holding a destroyed object must make a Fortitude save or be dazed for 1 round.

Shrouding Transformation (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts alter self as a spell-like ability, but he cannot change size category, nor does he gain any ability score bonuses for changing form.

Soul Blade (Sp): As a swift action, the Warlock conjures a glowing arcane blade made of his chosen element, which lasts for 10 rounds. This is treated as a light melee weapon that the Warlock is proficient with. It has a damage type and damage die equal to his current elemental blast damage. It still hits touch AC and does not add the Warlock's Strength modifier to its damage, but is in all other ways a normal melee attack, including the ability to make iterative attacks and attacks of opportunity, with a 5' threatened area. The Warlock can use either his Strength or his Dexterity modifier on attack rolls with the soul blade, as though he had the Weapon Finesse feat, but he does not actually gain this feat. The Warlock can still add any other bonuses to melee damage he gains due to feats or other class features that would apply to the soul blade, and melee penalties also apply. Any bonus or penalty that can apply to an elemental blast attack can also apply to a soul blade attack. If the soul blade leaves his hands, it is immediately dismissed, and it may also be dismissed at any time as a free action. With the soul blade in hand, it is still possible to fire elemental blasts and use other invocations, as long as his other hand remains free. The soul blade cannot be enhanced by any spells or items that enhance weapons. Due to its elemental nature, it bypasses all DR but is still subject to elemental resistance and hardness. It can strike incorporeal creatures, but it is treated as a corporeal source.

Enhanced Invocations (Must be at least 6th level)

Arcane Flight: The Warlock gains a fly speed equal to his base speed, with Good maneuverability.

Chain Blast: This is a blast augmentation. An elemental blast can hit a second target within 30 ft of the first one. At 10th level, the blast gains the ability to hit a third target, a fourth target at 15th level, and a fifth target at 20th level, each of which must be within 30 ft of the previous target. All of the additional targets take half the normal damage. Each target requires a separate attack roll, and a miss causes the chain to end immediately, unless the Warlock spends a void point. Each target requires a separate spell penetration check. No target can be hit more than once by the same chain blast.

Curse of Despair (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts bestow curse as a spell-like ability. Whether or not the target succeeds on the save, it also suffers a non-stacking -1 penalty on attack rolls for 1 minute.

Dimensional Step (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts dimension door as a spell-like ability, only affecting himself, with a range equal to 25' + 5' for every two Warlock levels he has. Just like the dimension door spell, there is no somatic component. He may also use this invocation as a swift action by spending four void points, but the normal action limitations to dimension door still apply. He may spend one void point (regardless of action type) to leave behind a major image of himself that lasts one round. An enemy in melee combat or grappling with him gets an immediate save to disbelieve the illusion.

Elemental Augmentation: Depending on his elemental aspect, the Warlock can add an additional effect to his elemental blast. This is a blast augmentation. Multiple uses of this invocation don't stack; instead, the new duration replaces the old one.- Air (or Darkness): The target must succeed at a Fortitude save or be blinded for 1 round.- Earth: The target must succeed at a Fortitude save or lose 5 points of damage reduction for 1 minute.- Fire (or Light): The target must succeed at a Reflex save or catch on fire, following the normal rules, except the save DC is based on the Warlock's save DC and the damage is 2d6 fire damage per round. The fire burns out after a number of rounds equal to half the Warlock's level.- Water: The target must succeed at a Fortitude save or suffer a -4 penalty to Dexterity for 10 minutes.

Hungry Darkness (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts deeper darkness as a spell-like ability, but on a stationary area, and with a duration of concentration. However, the Warlock can maintain the effect without concentrating by spending one void point per round. The entire area also contains a bat swarm that lasts as long as the spell does. Destroying the bat swarm also causes the incantation's effect to end. The Warlock is not affected by the swarm, but is still affected by the darkness. As a swift action, the Warlock can command the bat swarms to go dormant and not attack anyone for one round.

Targeted Blast: When choosing the elemental aspect for the day, the Warlock also chooses a favored enemy, using the same categories as the Ranger. He adds 2d6 bonus damage to any elemental blast against that favored enemy, of the same elemental type as the attack itself. This bonus damage increases to 3d6 at 12th level, and 4d6 at 18th level. This is a blast augmentation.

The Dead Walk (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts animate dead as a spell-like ability. Providing the material components is optional. If he does not provide material components, the animated dead have a duration of 1 minute per Warlock level. In either case, the normal limits to undead creation via animate dead still apply.

Voracious Dispel (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts dispel magic as a spell-like ability. Creatures with active spell effects dispelled by this ability take 1 damage for each level of spell effect dispelled. He may also use this invocation as an immediate action by spending three void points.

Walk Unseen (Sp): As a standard action, the Warlock casts invisibility as a spell-like ability. If he is already invisible, the duration resets, allowing him to remain invisible indefinitely as long as he can take a standard action every few minutes. He may also use this invocation as a swift action by spending four void points.

Witchwood Step: The Warlock gains +10' to his land speed and a +2 bonus to his CMD. He can walk over water, and is unaffected by difficult terrain. He is also immune to entanglement.

Superior Invocations (Must be at least 11th level)

Maybe later

I'll worry about these if I ever play in a game that actually gets to 11th level...

Grand Invocations (Must be at least 16th level)

Detect Magic (Sp): At 2nd level, a Warlock can use detect magic as the spell at will. His caster level equals his Warlock level.

Damage Reduction (Ex): At 3rd level, a Warlock gains damage reduction, bypassed by cold iron. Subtract 1 from the damage the Warlock takes each time he is dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack. At 7th level, and every four Warlock levels thereafter (11th, 15th, and 19th level), this damage reduction rises by 1 point. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.

Elemental Flexibility: Starting at 3rd level, a Warlock gains some flexibility to his elemental aspect, although elements that are not his chosen element for the day are far less easy for him to call upon. As a swift action, he may change all elemental blasts he conjures to a different elemental aspect that is available to him. This effect lasts for one round. Each elemental blast of a different element costs one void point, takes a -2 penalty to its attack roll, and cannot be enhanced by blast augmentations or by spending void points for bonuses. Other abilities that count as elemental blasts, such as melee attacks with a soul blade, are subject to the same limitations and penalties. None of his other powers that are determined by elemental aspect change.

Deceive Item (Ex): At 4th level, a Warlock has the ability to more easily commandeer magic items made for the use of other characters. When making a Use Magic Device check, he can take 10, even if distracted or threatened.

Blast Burst: At 8th level, an Warlock can, as a full-round action, spend two void points and make all of the iterative attacks that he is allowed by BAB as elemental blasts. He can also spend additional void points to enhance individual blasts in the full attack, but any enhancement applies only to a single blast attack. He may apply a blast augmentation to each individual blast, if he chooses to, and each blast need not use the same blast augmentation if he has more than one available.

Favored Class Bonuses

A character whose favored class is Warlock can, instead of the usual skill rank or hit point, choose to gain 1/6 of a new invocation.

Warlock Feats

Extra InvocationPrerequisite: Invocation class feature.Benefit: You gain one additional invocation. You must meet all of the prerequisites for this invocation.Special: You can gain Extra Invocation multiple times.

Extra Void PointPrerequisite: Void points class feature.Benefit: The maximum number of void points you can have increases by 1.Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects stack, granting you an increase to your maximum number of void points each time you take this feat.

I've had a chance to playtest this in a couple of game sessions. I was the DM and there were two players, both level 6 humans, one was playing a Warlock, the other had a Hidden Blade Unchained Rogue (i.e., an Unchained Rogue with Path of War stuff) who were rather comparable in what they were able to do. At least in this one test, the Warlock didn't seem overpowered or underpowered.

The Warlock was using Dimensional Step and she synergized very well with the Veiled Moon based Rogue, as they both had a lot of tricky techniques to zip around and not get hit. The Warlock also didn't fall too far behind dealing damage: generally dealing 4d6 per attack rather than the sneak attacking Rogue's 4d6+5 or so (or more using a Path of War strike) but hitting touch AC and being able to do it at range, and of course not having to depend on getting sneak attack.

Two things that were key to keeping the Warlock's damage output competitive were the Deadly Blast invocation (more or less a "Power Attack," with its -2 penalty to attack granting a +1d6 damage) and the ability to spend some per-encounter void points for bonuses when needed. Neither of these were in the original WotC Warlock but I feel like they helped the class a great deal and it feels more competitive with the generally more solid Pathfinder classes.

Archetype

Here's my first attempt at an archetype for the Warlock. Untested for now, but I tried to base it on existing abilities from Pathfinder and the 3.5 Warlock so it hopefully doesn't do anything too crazy.

Cryomancer

While many Warlocks do not commit to a single elemental path, believing that their strength is found in flexibility, others, for whatever reason, find themselves drawn specifically to one of the four elements and focus their skills on it exclusively. A Cryomancer is one such type of Warlock, who has focused her talents specifically on the element of cold. She has also developed various techniques in order that this focus on a single element not become a weakness.

The Cryomancer is an archetype of the Warlock class and has the following class features:

Cold Affinity: A Cryomancer focuses solely on cold, excluding all other elements. Her elemental blast deals cold damage, and she has cold resistance 5, as well as the constant benefit of endure elements for cold temperatures.At 2nd level, she gains the ability to use her talents to keep herself cool; her endure elements now encompasses all temperatures. At 5th level, she gets fire resistance 5.At 10th level, her cold resistance improves to cold resistance 10, and becomes cold immunity at 15th level. Also at 15th level, she gains fire resistance 10.For the purpose of any Warlock ability that requires an elemental aspect, a Cryomancer elemental aspect is always considered to be water.This ability replaces elemental aspect.

Cryomantic Invocations: A Cryomancer learns invocations much like a Warlock, but her abilities are focused towards the use of ice magic.She cannot use every invocation available to a standard Warlock. The only invocations available to her are:

In addition, she can choose invocations from the list below, which are not available to standard Warlocks:

Cryomantic Invocations

Basic InvocationsBlizzard Blast: This is a blast augmentation. The Cryomancer's elemental blast comes out as a 15 ft. cone rather than as a ray. No attack roll is needed but creatures caught in the cone can make a Reflex save for half damage. This form of the elemental blast cannot be enhanced with Deadly Blast.

Chill Metal (Sp): As a standard action, the Cryomancer casts chill metal as a spell-like ability. She is immune to all effects of her own spell.

Cold Focus: The Cryomancer gains Elemental Focus as a bonus feat. She must select cold as her energy type.

Falling Frost (Sp): As a standard action, the Cryomancer casts frost fall as a spell-like ability. She is immune to all effects of her own spell.

Icy Armor (Sp): The Cryomancer casts ice armor as a spell-like ability, but only on herself. It normally takes 1 minute, but she can cast it as a standard action by spending two void points.The armor forms around her even if not immersed in water. She need not don the armor, and, if she removes this armor, it instantly crumbles into useless shards of ice.The Cryomancer is proficient with this armor, and does not suffer any arcane spell failure chance due to wearing it. All other bonuses and penalties are as the spell ice armor.

Icy Resilience: The Cryomancer gains a +1 natural armor bonus. At 6th level, and every sixth level thereafter, she gains an additional +1 natural armor bonus, to a maximum of +4 at 18th level.

Snow Shape (Sp): As a standard action, the Cryomancer casts snow shape as a spell-like ability. She gains a bonus equal to half her Cryomancer level on any Craft check needed, and does not take the normal -2 penalty when using a weapon crafted using this ability.

Winterspeech (Ex): The Cryomancer can verbally communicate with any creature of the "cold" subtype that can hear her and speaks a language, even if she and it do not normally have a language in common. This does not guarantee the response will be friendly, only that communication is possible.

Enhanced InvocationsAbyssal Cold: When using Piercing Frost, the Cryomancer can instead choose to deal abyssal cold damage, which is not the same as cold damage and is not stopped cold resistance or immunity, nor is it stopped by any form of DR.

Aura of Cold (Sp): The Cryomancer has a constant elemental aura of cold. She may enable or disable the aura as a standard action. By spending three void points, she may enable or disable the aura as an immediate action.

Icy Companion (Sp): As a standard action, the Cryomancer casts summon monster II as a spell-like ability.She must use it to summon a small ice elemental. She can only have one elemental summoned at a time.She may also use this invocation as a swift action by spending five void points.

Icy Step: The Cryomancer gains +10' to her land speed and a +2 bonus to her CMD. She can move effortlessly across snow and ice, and never treats them as difficult terrain. She can spider climb any surface covered in snow or ice. She is also immune to entanglement.

Sleet Storm (Sp): As a standard action, the Cryomancer casts sleet storm as a spell-like ability. If she already has one sleet storm active, each one beyond the first costs one void point per round to maintain, and all but the newest immediately end if she does not have the void points.

Superior Invocations

Note

I'll need to come up with more of these, along with some Superior Invocations for the standard Warlock, but these two came to mind right away.

Hoarfrost (Su): The Cryomancer gains the Hoarfrost major hex. The saving throw DC is equal to 10 + half Cryomancer level + Charisma modifier.The Cryomancer does not otherwise count as having the hex (or major hex) class feature.

Ice Tomb (Su): The Cryomancer gains the Ice Tomb major hex. The saving throw DC is equal to 10 + half Cryomancer level + Charisma modifier.The Cryomancer does not otherwise count as having the hex (or major hex) class feature.

This ability alters invocations.

Piercing Frost: Starting at 3rd level, a Cryomancer gains some ability to oppose creatures who are resilient to cold energy. As a swift action, she may change her elemental blasts to deal piercing damage instead. This effect lasts for one round. Each of these piercing blasts still targets touch AC, costs one void point, takes a -2 penalty to its attack roll, and cannot be enhanced by blast augmentations or by spending void points for bonuses. Other abilities that count as elemental blasts, such as melee attacks with a soul blade, are subject to the same limitations and penalties. This damage is no longer affected by elemental resistances or immunities, but it is now stopped by DR that affects piercing weapons.This ability replaces elemental flexibility.